Real Turkey (11 destinations)

Customer Reviews

• PG

  Patrick

  · June 16th, 2025
  Overall, this was an awesome experience! Our guide (C.) was great - knowledgeable, friendly, and well-organized. The group had great chemistry, and there was a good mix of cultural activities, free time, and scenic highlights. Using public transport added authenticity and gave us a chance to see more of the country. Cappadocia was definitely a highlight, but be aware that excursions there can be expensive if booked through the tour provider. For example, the balloon tour offered through Intrepid was €200, while local prices ranged from €80–120 the day before. I’d love to see Intrepid partner with reliable local companies to offer better rates and even more optional extras (e.g. photoshoot in Cappadocia). Personally, I would’ve preferred skipping the Konya stop - the time spent checking in/out and transferring didn’t feel worth it. Adding half a day more in Antalya or including Izmir or Ankara in the itinerary could further improve the overall experience. The night bus to Istanbul was difficult (very little sleep), though maybe unavoidable. We were lucky it wasn’t crowded, but if full, it would’ve been nearly impossible to rest. The last day in Istanbul also felt a bit underwhelming - only visiting the Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar. A short city tour or Bosphorus cruise would’ve been a great addition. Hotels were basic but fine for the trip style. All in all, a wonderful adventure across Turkey - with stunning landscapes, deep culture, and good company!
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  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Hi Patrick, thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful and in depth review. We are thrilled to hear that overall you had a fantastic time in Turkey and you found your guide and the environment built by the experience to be a... Show more
  Trip date: May 2025
• NL

  Nicholas

  · October 12th, 2023
  Shafaq was a great tour guide, informative, organised and personable with a great attitude. The group got on well and the range of activities was amazing from hot air ballooning in Capadocia to boat days and visiting carpet shops. It was a great experience and highly recommend, especially to those like me that had never visited Turkey before, and wanted to uncover a lot of what the country has to offer in two weeks.
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  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Hello Nicholas, thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and for your recommendation to others. Turkey is a wonderful destination with so much to see and do. We are pleased to learn that you had a great experience, group, and trip... Show more
  Trip date: September 2023
• D

  DebdieRyan

  · November 8th, 2022
  My 5 th Intrepid Tour and just returned from 2 week Premium Turkey. Substandard tour due to poor guide. Disinterested. Poor leadership. Lack of knowledge of places visited. Voiced negatve political views. We missed out on optional tours due to poor time management and lack of enthusiasm. Put us into 2 dangerous situations. Have come home stressed and not likely to travel with Intrepid again. 7 /9 voicing firmal complaints
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  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Hello Deb, we're sorry to hear about your experience with us! We've been able to locate your booking and feedback, and are currently investigating the issues you encountered and our Customer Care team will be in touch. We are very sorry that we did not... Show more
  Trip date: October 2022
• FS

  Fabienne

  · October 27th, 2022
  Hi my tour was ok. Elif was really really nice but the fact that we had to purchase private transfers as the group of 16 ppl would have mostlikely not able to be on the same bus as they were public minibusses is unbelievable - as we paid a lot of money already! Also I think there should have been more option what to do with free time when we arrive a lot of times we arrived at lunchtime and if we had the option to pre-book other activities like snorkeling or diving etc. Also when we went to the archeological sites there was the minimum information given which was very disappointing as that's the reason why i mainly booked this tour. Safety standards at the horseriding were not there. My horse was injured and struggled to walk. 2 of the group had no helmets-as there were non available - mine didn't even close. Which is under safety standards. So the areas were pretty and I enjoyed the tour really much but would not book again.
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  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Thank you so much for your review, Fabienne. We are disappointed to hear that you feel your tour was ‘okay’ as we strive to do better than that for our travellers. While we do offer some trip styles with more privatized transport options, our basix... Show more
  Trip date: October 2022
• M

  MikaelaGlasson

  · October 18th, 2019
  The tour was way way way too fast paced. We jumped around so much in the beginning and there was not enough time to enjoy anywhere. An extra day or two added to the tour especially somewhere at the beginning would have made such a big difference. The boat section is misleading and not at all how it was imagines by many. Instead of sailing from a to b like it seemed on the map we floated around a bay and then returned to shore to then get on a bus for a couple of hours to get to our destination. It also seemed like we were going to be on the boat for 3 days. Instead we got on in the evening, had one day and were off by 7:30am the next day. Our guide did not have adequate English to be running this trip. It was his first time and while he tried really hard and I can appreciate that - I simply was not able to learn anything from him. He also was very strict about taking us to designated intrepid restaurants. We kept asking for him to take us to more traditional places that were also cheaper and we kept ending up at expensive western places. Intrepid has connections with certain restaurants and I know that but so many of those restaurants had bad food that never impressed and you always felt a bit forced to be there. Overall, this tour provided me with easy transport and accommodation but not much else.
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  Trip date: September 2019
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  Steph

  · September 27th, 2019
  This was an ideal tour to see many of the best places in Turkey. The itinerary hits all the key destinations that you would want to visit, and I never really left a town thinking that it wasn’t enough time. However, there are a lot of long bus trips, and despite what Intrepid suggests, the buses are very uncomfortable. The seats are small and cramped, and unlike what the itinerary states there is no wifi/power points or coffee served on any of the busses. Be prepared to spend the first half of the day travelling to a destination, and then the next half site seeing. In saying this, unlike other tours I have done. there were never any early starts, and it was a relatively easy paced tour. Especially with a place like turkey, the destinations speak for themselves, and we were taken to the best. Intrepid’s style Of travel is honestly one of the best you can choose, we went to good local restaurants, and were taken to authentic places. Tours can often feel like you are walking into a tourist trap, but Intrepid goes that extra mile to provide an authentic and local experience. Our accomodation was comfortable and always seemed to be in the heart of town. We have had some winners with staying in a Cave at Cappadocia and had a few hotels with pools throughout the stay. If you don’t like the heat, consider travelling to Turkey in September or later, because there were plenty of times when the heat was stifling. Often what makes a tour enjoyable is the group you are with and the tour guide. My group constituted of 14 females and 2 males. Most of us were solo travellers and all Australians ranging on average 23-26 years old. Our tour guide was lovely and we often had a good laugh with her, however I felt that her poor English was of detriment to her abilities as a guide. There were many times when we were either given wrong information or extremely lacking details. In many places like the underground cities, I left feeling disappointed that we were given hardly any details about the fascinating people, and when pushed, our guide gave rather vague answers. Another example, was before the boat trip around Fethiye (which was an incredible highlight) we weren’t told that there wouldn’t be any free water provided on board (which I think is an essential piece of information, especially because we were promised that every accomodation would have free/clean water dispensers). Although buying water bottles wasn’t expensive, it was double the price than onshore, and a horrendous waste to continuously buy small plastic bottles. Compared to other tours that I have done with Topdeck and Contiki, I felt that we were not given nearly enough information throughout the tour and this often left me having multiple unanswered questions about the places we had visited and the plans for the day. Turkey is a great company for someone on a budget. Please note though that tipping is custom, and were asked by our guide to pitch in an additional $45(aud) each to cover tips- as Australians we don’t tip at home, so I was happy to leave it in the hands of our guide. On average I was spending around $50aud per day to cover food, shopping and sites. Overall, despite small negatives, I would recommend this tour to anyone who is travelling solo, on a budget or want the comfort of a tour. Intrepid is an incredible company that allows you to see the best parts of a country with like-‘minded people and a low price tag.
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  Trip date: September 2019
• LH

  Lauren

  · September 16th, 2019
  This tour was an excellent way to experience Turkey. The itinerary was fantastic, I thoroughly enjoyed every place we visited. I also felt very safe and supported thanks to our amazing guide Gulce. It was lovely to have a local Turkish guide because we were able to learn so much from her. Gulce went above and beyond for us and even spent 30 minutes of her time chasing after a bus to retrieve another travellers phone! If you’re interested in seeing Istanbul, Gallipoli, the Turkish coast, Pamukkale and Cappadocia I could not recommend a better tour. Thanks again G, you’re the best!
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  Trip date: July 2019
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  Megan

  · August 6th, 2019
  amazing look at the best Turkey has to offer!
  Trip date: July 2019